Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan College had a tough time holding the lead down the stretch and fell 61-58 at Grand Valley State on Saturday.
The loss dropped the Panthers to 1-4 on the season with three home games coming up at the Sportscenter this week.
KWC grabbed the lead in Allendale, Mich., with 11 minutes to play in the first half, had a 13-point lead early in the second half.
KWC held onto the advantage for most of the second half, until Ryan Sabin made a steal that led to a Rob Woodson layup with 27 seconds left in regulation that pushed Grand Valley to a 59-58 lead. KWC never got back in front.
"Those kids played their hearts out," KWC coach Happy Osborne said in a postgame radio interview. "It kills my soul for these kids. I hate it."
Another steal by Sabin and two free throws by Darren Kapustka with four seconds left sealed the win for Grand Valley (2-0).
KWC's Ken-Jah Bosley was off with a 3-point try to force overtime.
Bosley had a tooth knocked out in the first half, according to Osborne, but stayed in the game and finished with nine points.
Dominique Dawson led the Panthers with 12 points and nine rebounds, but he was limited to two points on two shots in the second half with two rebounds.
"We've got to get the ball in his hands, because he will
pass it back out if he's double-teamed," Osborne said.
Despite the second-half difficulities, Osborne thought Dawson had one of his better games this season.
Lonnie Hayes was the only other double-figure scorer for KWC with 11 points.
KWC struggled offensively in the second half, hitting just 6-of-24 from the floor for 25 percent. The Panthers were 16-of-46 from the field for 34.8 percent in the game.
KWC made 20-of-26 from the free-throw line for 76.9 percent. It also had a commanding 41-25 advantage in rebounding, and managed 22 second-chance points.
Turnovers were a problem for KWC, which committed 16 that Grand Valley turned into 23 points.
Sabin was an offensive machine for Grand Valley, scoring a game-high 23 points, hitting 8-of-14 shots from the field and 7-of-12 from 3-point range. Ricardo Carbajal scored 16 points for the Lakers.
Grand Valley was 10-of-23 on 3-pointers for 43.5 percent. Grand Valley made 22-of-50 shots from the floor for 44 percent.
KWC hosts Lake Superior State on Wednesday at the Sportscenter at 2 p.m. The Panthers host their Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
